TSP Andrew: So, my mom and I attended the historical last Bobcats game to ever be played on Monday night. After the game, and the hour-long ride home, with lots of discussion, she put this article together. She said make changes as needed, but she’d like to see it out there for fans to read. Bobcats fans, Hornets fans, NBA fan…basketball fans. Well, I didn’t really see any changes to be made, but I definitely wanted to share it. So with that said…here’s my mom’s first Trade Street Post contribution:

As a long-time fan of the Hornets/Bobcats/Hornets, I made some observations after seeing Game 4 of the NBA Playoffs. I’ve always loved basketball, I watched college games with my dad and now enjoy the NBA with my son and we were fortunate enough to see games with the original Hornets. But times have changed. And I’m not sure it’s as much fun to watch.

We tried (and failed) to get tickets to see Jordan, Shaq, Magic, Bird, etc. play. But the one thing I remember when they played is that even though they were the “best of the best” they weren’t treated any differently than the other players. A foul was a foul no matter what name was on the jersey. They didn’t give Jordan any sort of special treatment, he didn’t have a “do not touch zone” around his body and if he came over the back it was a foul.

In today’s world that’s exactly the way certain players are treated. Yes, in this case I’m referring to LeBron James. And he knows that he is awarded this special treatment. Sorry but it’s not fun to watch, and even if you were a Miami Heat fan, I don’t think you could sit there and honestly & enjoy these games either. I’m not sure if they give an Academy Award in basketball for acting skills, but if they did, LeBron James would definitely be taking that trophy home. He got hit in the thigh by Biyombo’s knee, and he rolled around in the floor in pain, grasping his knee like he had blown out his ACL, MCL, PCL…you would have expected the entire portion of his lower leg to have fallen off. Within a timeout and 2 trots up and down the court, the Basketball Gods performed a miracle as he was able to run without a limp, hit 2 3-pointers, and even jump and dunk again.

I want to see them play and play hard. Yes he made 3 fouls but the refs probably felt that they had to make it seem like they were watching (those fouls came towards the end of the game, when it didn’t really matter). Did I mention that he argued that 2 of them weren’t even really fouls?

It’s obvious that the referees have programmed in their minds, “well it’s just the lowly Bobcats” they aren’t expected to win. The Heat can’t be beat by those guys, it would screw up the chance for a three-peat…and maybe they are right…but let’s just forget who is playing and let it just be two teams both fighting to win. Don’t look at the names on the jerseys; just let them play some good basketball.
Yes I’m going to say it. Like the good old days….
With that said…Goodbye Bobcats…